FirstFT: Nvidia’s valuation tops $4tn

Good morning and welcome back. Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Nvidia’s valuation tops $4tn

• Moët Hennessy’s sexual harassment case

• US Federal Reserve’s independence

• And what makes a great party?

Nvidia yesterday became the first company to hit a $4tn market valuation, on the back of a rapid rebound for Wall Street technology stocks in recent months.

How have the shares performed? The shares peaked at $164.42 to surpass the milestone before falling back to close at $162.88, giving it a market capitalisation of $3.97tn. They have risen 40 per cent since early May after sputtering at the start of the year on concerns about the growth in demand for AI chips and the emergence of Chinese rival DeepSeek. But those concerns have receded and Nvidia is forecast to reach $200bn in revenues this year, up 55 per cent year on year.

Why it matters: Nvidia has become the biggest beneficiary of a tech boom that has exceeded the headiest days of the dotcom era. Its chips are used to fuel AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Anthropic as well as “sovereign AI” models. It also has a significant business in China, which accounts for 13 per cent of total sales, despite US export controls. Here’s more on the company’s growth.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Jamie Dimon: JPMorgan Chase’s chief executive will give a speech and take part in a Q&A at the Irish foreign ministry in Dublin.

• Central banks: Alberto Musalem, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller participate at public events. Bank of Mexico publishes monetary policy minutes and Peru’s central bank is scheduled to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.5 per cent.

• Economic data: Brazil’s statistics agency IBGE publishes June consumer price data.

• Results: Conagra Brands and Delta Air Lines report earnings.

Five more top stories

1. Exclusive: Moët Hennessy is facing accusations of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and unfair dismissal in a lawsuit that people who have worked at the business say is symptomatic of wider cultural problems at LVMH’s €6bn drinks division. Adrienne Klasa has more details on the case.

2. Coffee futures prices jumped today after US President Donald Trump threatened 50 per cent tariffs on Brazil, the world’s biggest arabica producer, jolting the industry and risking a price surge for US consumers. Arabica coffee prices trading in New York climbed more than 3.5 per cent in response to Trump’s threat.

• Brazil-US tensions: The US president also lashed out at the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over the treatment of Brazil’s former rightwing president Jair Bolsonaro.

• More trade news: Carmakers and shipowners have called on the Trump administration to rethink steep new port fees on car-carrying ships, arguing that the levies will hurt American consumers and exporters.

3. US power providers are seeking to impose big price increases on consumers amid the energy-intensive requirements of artificial intelligence data centres. An energy advocacy group said utilities sought regulatory approval for 142 per cent higher rates in the first half of 2025, highlighting the question of whether surging electricity costs will be shared among all users, or charged directly to the large industrial customers driving the new demand.

4. Ferrero, the family-owned Italian food group behind Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tac and Kinder sweets, is in advanced discussions to buy the American breakfast cereal company WK Kellogg in a deal worth up to $3bn. The food industry is grappling with changing consumer habits that have forced manufacturers, particularly sweets companies, to alter their strategy.

• More deal news: Amazon is weighing another multibillion-dollar investment in the AI model builder Anthropic to deepen its strategic alliance, according to multiple people with knowledge of the talks.

5. A catastrophic flood that has killed more than 100 people in Texas has amplified concerns that countries are ill-prepared to warn citizens of impending dangers, even as climate change makes extreme weather events more frequent and intense. “It is particularly shocking and concerning that the flood was so deadly in a place that knows they are at risk of flash floods,” said a senior adviser at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. 

The Big Read

Donald Trump’s increasing frustration with the US Federal Reserve has led him to describe Jerome Powell as variously “stupid”, “terrible”, a “numbskull”, “a stubborn mule” and “a total and complete moron”. The insults have led some to worry about the central bank’s independence and weighed on the dollar, but replacing him with someone more pliable will not be straightforward. Can the Fed stay independent under Trump?

​​We’re also reading and listening to . . . 

• ICE: When Trump outlined his vision for deportations in 2024 he said he would focus on expelling those with a criminal record. But that has widened to include everyone without legal status.

• Defence: Europe is just a few years away from being able to deploy fighter jets without human pilots, said the continent’s most valuable defence start-up.

• Trade: Trump’s shambolic tariff policy might have some helpful effects, argues senior trade writer Alan Beattie.

• Undercover Economist: The law of unintended consequences strikes again.

Chart of the day 

The number of US measles infections has surged to the highest level since 1992, causing 162 hospitalisations and three deaths this year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one-third of the cases have been in one west Texas county.

Take a break from the news

A budget of $10mn plus, a host of A-listers with a Venetian backdrop all bode well for a good gathering but, writes James Max, a great get together is about human chemistry. Here’s James’ list of dos and don’ts if you’re planning a party this weekend.